View Full Version : WALT ALSTON arrives....
DODGER DEB
11-24-2007, 10:23 AM
On November 24, 1953, the Big "O" found his perfect manager, WALT ALSTON. On that day, 54 years ago, Walt signed a one year pact to manage OUR Dodgers in 1954. As WE all know, Walt's one year contracts lasted through the 1970's. Unlike Chuck Dressen, he never complained about them. He was just happy to be managing in the ML.
c.
Of the Brooklyn Mgr's from 1947 where do you rate him.
Leo Durocher
Burt Shotten
Chuck Dressen
DODGER DEB
11-24-2007, 12:17 PM
Well, LeoD, Walt did something for US that no other manager had achieved, no matter how talented they were....he managed OUR DODGERS to their only World Championship. So, for that I would have to rate him as #1. Aside from that, though, he was a smart baseball man., who perferred to manage from the "background". While I will admit that Leo was a also a solid baseball man, his almost daily "in your face" scenes took away from his excellent managerial skills. Dressen was too into himself to be a really good manager. OUR Dodgers won, in spite of him. That's how good OUR 1952 and 1953 teams were. As for 1951, his managerial mistakes absolutely lost it for US.
c.
As for 1951, his managerial mistakes absolutely lost it for US.
c.
I thought it was the Giants stealing signs. For all the talk of an asteriks in the HR record books, why isn't there one next to the 51 NL Title? Are they going to stop playing that that stupid video with that call? I am sure its a nightmare for you Brooklyn fans like the Drive and the Fumble are for Cleveland Browns Fans.
DODGER DEB
11-25-2007, 08:52 AM
I thought it was the Giants stealing signs. For all the talk of an asteriks in the HR record books, why isn't there one next to the 51 NL Title? Are they going to stop playing that that stupid video with that call? I am sure its a nightmare for you Brooklyn fans like the Drive and the Fumble are for Cleveland Browns Fans.
I stand by what I said previosuly about the Giants stealing OUR signs.....and I still feel there should be an asterisk next to "their win". I do, however, feel that if Chuck Dressen had been more competent in selecting OUR pitchers, and making better decisions as to changing pitchers, WE could have pulled it out!
c.
penncentralpete
11-25-2007, 09:22 AM
I stand by what I said previosuly about the Giants stealing OUR signs.....and I still feel there should be an asterisk next to "their win". I do, however, feel that if Chuck Dressen had been more competent in selecting OUR pitchers, and making better decisions as to changing pitchers, WE could have pulled it out!
c.
to this very day, dodger deb, it is a puzzlement how duke snider states dressen was his favorite manager. charlie was an egotistical man who suffered from the classic "napoleon complex" (IMHO). he refused to tap into any of allen roth's extensive statistical analysis, treating roth as an ancillary geek.
to this very day, dodger deb, it is a puzzlement how duke snider states dressen was his favorite manager. charlie was an egotistical man who suffered from the classic "napoleon complex" (IMHO). he refused to tap into any of allen roth's extensive statistical analysis, treating roth as an ancillary geek.
Favorite, not best.
dodger dynamo
11-25-2007, 01:55 PM
I think walt was deer caught in the head lights at first, they say he had this qiuet power of authority. really his authority lie in the fact that he made o'malley happy. I think having no major league experience as any kind of coach or manager put him in an awkward position. the veterans said to themselves hey, we were in the world series last year where were you?. all the managers had the talent to win. the amoros switch won the game and the series and that was an accident, a great one, but an accident. I think k.o.b ( kindly old burt shotton ) is a good choice, in 1950 milt stock made a call and shotton was punished along with stock for it. burt was kind of ghostly presence yet his teams won, he didn't blow his own horn and for that he's not respected. I'm going with burt because he wasn't an in your face guy and he manged his teams very well. I think all the players respected shotton. mlb and many people thought he was just an old guy sitting on the bench. I'm going wit boit. there are more obvious choices, but I think he notices they're stealing signs in 51 and he brings in labine instead of branca.
dodger dynamo
11-25-2007, 02:24 PM
p.s in 50 if anyone remembers the phillies were having a great year and the bubba church got hurt and simmons was drafted and burt got them close, close enough to almost pull it off. then we coulda beaten them in the playoff. then he takes that experience into 51 and maybe the jints don't even get close. battlin bake, the dodger dynamo
Ralph Zig Tyko
11-25-2007, 03:17 PM
If Dressen replaces Walker with Campy, he [Roy] gets Newk through it and they don't have to go to Branca... Walt got you to the "promised land." As Jim Rome would say, "scoreboard."
If Dressen replaces Walker with Campy, he [Roy] gets Newk through it and they don't have to go to Branca... Walt got you to the "promised land." As Jim Rome would say, "scoreboard."
That's been discussed with Newk and he said he had nothing left and Roy would have made no difference.
dodger dynamo
11-25-2007, 04:46 PM
oh, here's another thing about shotton, he managed the team through those early years of integration and kept it running smooth enough to win. robinson really liked boit. also burt was a rickey man, branch would not have put some one in charge that wasn't going to get the job done. so rickey's two choices were leo and burt. when leo became a problem he rickey ( the great baseball man) chose burt. burt did not let rickey down. I think o'malley wanted rid of shotton because he was a rickey guy. battlin bake, the dodger dynamo
Ralph Zig Tyko
11-25-2007, 04:49 PM
... really wasn't about "digging down deep" and coming up with what it took to win big games. That reputation will be mentioned in the first paragraph of his obituary.
ColtscorrAL
11-26-2007, 10:09 AM
Walt Alston is the first Dodgers manager I remember. What I remeber best about him is his quiet but strong manner. I also remember that he could go with the flow and make the Dodgers a winner no matter what type of team he had.
penncentralpete
11-26-2007, 10:33 AM
Walt Alston is the first Dodgers manager I remember. What I remeber best about him is his quiet but strong manner. I also remember that he could go with the flow and make the Dodgers a winner no matter what type of team he had.
walt alston surely did "go with the flow" as you state Colt. he (alston) never complained about his year-to-year, single season contracts, either. something o'malley liked.
penncentralpete
11-26-2007, 05:15 PM
On November 24, 1953, the Big "O" found his perfect manager, WALT ALSTON. On that day, 54 years ago, Walt signed a one year pact to manage OUR Dodgers in 1954. As WE all know, Walt's one year contracts lasted through the 1970's. Unlike Chuck Dressen, he never complained about them. He was just happy to be managing in the ML.
c.Walter Alston:
penncentralpete
11-28-2007, 04:18 PM
Walter Alston 1954:
VIBaseball
02-11-2009, 07:35 AM
It's sometimes noted that Walt Alston got one at-bat in the majors, with the Cardinals in 1936. He'd had a big year in the Class C Middle Atlantic League (35-114-.326) and would have some others there too.
Branch Rickey brought him from the St. Louis chain to Brooklyn. He was a player-manager at Nashua in 1946, helping Campy and Newk, among others. Then he climbed the ladder.